Ramblings of a former pro-cyclist and future physical therapist
Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic has had a significant impact on my time at VCU, most notably in an academic sense, from virtual anatomy with digital “cadavers” to divided lab groups and restricted lab time. But it also impacted our classes ability to engage with one another and our sense of belonging, not just in our …
Continue reading "Access: The Blessing of Virtual Education"
During our matriculation at VCU, we are required to complete service learning activities. While these activities may have started out as requirements, through participation with local organizations, they became more than checking a box - service learning became an integral part of the physical therapy learning experience and pushed me outside my comfort zone of …
Continue reading "Into the Community: Service Learning at VCU"
Over the course of PT school, we are asked to use the Professional Behaviors Assessment to reflect on where we operate in a variety of areas, from critical thinking, to efficiency, to interpersonal skills. This tool asks us to determine where we are on the continuum from beginner level to post-entry level behavior and discuss …
Entering PT school, in my naivate, one of my objectives was to become an expert clinician. Little did I realize that, despite dedication to studying, reaching that level of expertise takes time and experience beyond the classroom and 32 weeks of clinicals. That said, my objective has not changed, rather been pushed back to be …
Continue reading "Beyond the Classroom: Professional Goals and Development"
Reflection on Week 1: The primary thing I discovered during the virtual simulations was that I tended to want to do more with a patient than is really feasible. For example, I would always want to ask more questions than the app recommended or perform more tests and measures than were needed. Though I do …
Continue reading "A Reflection: Integrated Clinical Experience"
I have always struggled with wanting to do too many things. Finding a major in undergrad wasn't challenging because I didn't like anything, but because I enjoyed everything. I think that’s why triathlons suit me so well because I get to participate in three sports for the price of one. PT school is a little …
Francisco Goya was a Spanish romantic artist who lived from 1746-1828. In 1793 he suffered a severe, undiagnosed illness and experienced intermittent paralysis, severe headaches, hallucinations and remained functionally deaf for the rest of his life (Whyte). Much of his later work is characterized by darkness and dramatic fantasies, from Depictions of War, a series …
My name is Kate Buss and I’m a second year DPT student at Virginia Commonwealth University. I attended Brown University as a physics major and varsity distance runner. While I enjoyed my time at Brown, injuries sidelined me and I took a semester off to return home to Blacksburg, Virginia. I ultimately decided to transfer …
It’s official - I’m off to race my first world tour race tomorrow (I wrote this yesterday) at the Amgen Tour of California. So I wanted to take a moment to sit down and write about some things before that happens. This year I’ve felt that with every race, my perspective on racing changes. I …
The road season is over and I’m not sure how to feel about it. One month ago I would have been thrilled to be done. I was tired. I didn’t want to train. I didn’t want to race. I was questioning if I should even continue to be a bike racer. Did I love it …
Kate Buss 